Five-year-old Lily* waits patiently as Dr. Liz Ardolino buckles her into a harness, which is attached by straps to a ceiling-mounted track. As Ardolino guides her through the motions, the little girl stands and moves around the track. “Faster!” she shouts gleefully, flapping her arms. “I’m flying!” Lily was born with spina bifida, a birth
Countless hours of college baseball practice finally took their toll on Dr. Christian Bourgeois ’07 during a base-running drill. When he pushed off the bag at third, he felt a pop. He’d broken the small sesamoid bone in the ball of his foot. After being on two national championship teams, he was sidelined. “I didn’t
Rob Stanborough, PT, DPT, MHSc, MTC, CMTPT, FAAOMPT The 2016 Olympics have come and gone. Our Olympians pushed their bodies to the limit and brought home the gold. In doing so, many of these outstanding athletes relied on the help of physical therapists to perform their best on and off the field (or pool). As
With the tips of his water skis bobbing just above the water, the camper white-knuckled the rope-handle with one hand and gave the thumbs-up with the other. The counselor watched from the stern of the boat as the motor revved to life, pulling the rope from slack to tight and lifting the camper up on
A twist of the shoulder. A kick to the knee. A punch to the face. The top-ranked mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter brings down his opponent with impressive ease. But after the fight, he begins to feel his own injuries—torn ligaments, a strained rotator cuff, a broken hand—the result of strikes, kicks, and punches associated
In the morning, Dr. Phil Coppa ’03 climbs into his 4×4 and makes the arduous drive through the jungle. The unpaved road ends at a dirt-floor shanty made of plywood and tin. His client’s home lacks a door, but its occupants are welcoming and eager to see him: He’s here to help their toddler overcome
For many women, an aching back is just part of pregnancy. It doesn’t have to be, says Dr. Cynthia E. Neville, a physical therapist and contributing faculty member who specializes in women’s health. “Up to half of all women who are pregnant experience back and pelvic girdle pain,” Neville says, which is thought to be
It wasn’t enough to be the rehabilitation director for the Pittsburgh Pirates or to be the first Filipino to have the job. As Dr. Erwin Benedict Valencia ’11 sat in a café, taking a breather from a whirlwind travel schedule, he realized that he wanted—needed—something more. “I wanted to do something for myself and the
Luke Murphy, retired U.S. Army staff sergeant and author of Blasted by Adversity, gave the keynote address during an alumni event on the St. Augustine campus this summer. Here, he shares with faculty member and fellow amputee Dr. Scott Love how PTs at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center helped him recover—physically and mentally. Dr.
After more than a decade as a clinical instructor and advisor at the University of Toronto, Dr. Nirtal Shah ’05, a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) graduate, started to get antsy. “I wanted to be involved with health on more than an individual level,” he says. He was also frustrated with his patients’ inability to
The joke about people who do CrossFit—the popular high-intensity strength-training and conditioning regimen—is that they can’t go more than a few minutes without mentioning it. What’s not so funny are the injuries that many of these athletes endure when they fail to use proper form or build core strength. Dr. Adam Guiliano ’08, a Doctor
The smell of garbage and decay was overpowering. Their shoes sunk into the sludge. Vultures circled overhead. Black flies blanketed a dying dog. But the women kept walking. Access is severely restricted, but a local jefe gave them a tour of the Guatemala City Dump. Thousands of people live on the edges of this 40-acre